Marlboro lawyer defends football coach Ward

Rich Ward is Marlboro's football coach, but the school district's lawyer defending a lawsuit brought against him last month apparently also knows something about going on the offensive.

JUSTIN RODRIGUEZ

Rich Ward is Marlboro's football coach, but the school district's lawyer defending a lawsuit brought against him last month apparently also knows something about going on the offensive.

Attorney Gregg Johnson filed a motion on Friday in federal district court in Albany to have the suit dismissed and fired away at the plaintiffs in the case — and the merits of their accusations against Ward.

Ward has been accused of physically and verbally abusing players and making a racist comment about another, in a lawsuit filed by Thomas Corcoran III, as well as Al and Kerstin Votta, on behalf of their sons and three other former players. Marlboro superintendent Ray Castellani and the Marlboro School District are named as co-defendants in the suit, which seeks compensatory and punitive damages against Ward and Castellani, and to have Ward terminated as head coach.

Johnson wrote to the court that the plaintiffs "attempted to damage the reputations of Defendants through a pre-service distribution to local media."

"The allegations contained in plaintiffs' complaint are clearly drafted to incite quick public reaction, garner media attention, and are a transparent attempt to force Coach Ward's termination and/or resignation through bad publicity." Johnson added. "However, from a legal standpoint, a closer look at the allegations (or lack thereof) reveals that the Complaint is legally infirm, having been constructed upon a foundation of generalities, provocative legal conclusions, speculation and rumors."

The plaintiffs' lawyer, Michael Sussman, said he could not comment on Johnson's motion to the court until he's seen the court document. Johnson said that he expects Sussman to oppose the motion, which will leave the judge assigned to the case, Thomas McAvoy, to decide if he will toss the case, or let it proceed. According to Johnson, a ruling won't come for at least a month.

Ward, 40-5 in four seasons, and Castellani declined comment for this story.

Ward wasn't the only coach's name used in Johnson's letter to the court. He referred to former NFL coaches Tony Dungy and Mike Ditka and even quoted Vince Lombardi in his defense of Ward and the Marlboro School District.

"In short, plaintiffs here ask this Court to intervene and challenge the methods of a highly effective football head coach simply because these plaintiffs would have been preferred to have been motivated by a Tony Dungy-style coach, instead of a Mike Ditka-style coach," Johnson wrote. "It is undisputed that the MCSD (Marlboro Central School District) features one of the best high school football programs in the state; an accomplishment that reflects the collaboration of dozens of young men responding positively to the challenges their coach defines for them. While Coach Ward drives his players toward excellence, he did/does so by motivating each of them to strive to be the best student athlete that they can be."